On an African safari in 2007, the New Albany resident and his tour group were asked whether some
Tanzanian schoolchildren could perform for them to practice their English.

“It was in an old schoolhouse — no water, no electricity, things falling down,” Smith recalled. “
But the kids were beautiful.

“They started singing, ‘If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.’ And by the time they
got through ‘happy and you know it,’ I’m crying.”

They were tears of joy, Smith noted.

“These kids have so little, yet they love life.”

After he returned home, Smith wrote a check to help renovate and supply the schoolhouse, near
the town of Karatu in the east African country.

The charitable gesture wasn’t his first: Through his foundation, Thanks Be to God, Smith has
donated more than $400,000 to various groups during the past 14 years.

The trip to Tanzania, though, sparked a particular interest in the whole of Africa.

Last year, Smith purchased 100 e-readers for distribution to schoolchildren in Tanzania and
Uganda.

His latest effort centers on PackH2O backpacks — containers manufactured by the Delaware company
Greif that are designed to keep drinking water clean during transport.

Seeking to raise awareness, Smith wore an empty pack while walking two half- marathons this year
and will do the same on Saturday during the Capital City Half Marathon.

An estimated 2 billion people worldwide have to leave their homes to access clean water,
according to Kelsey Langdale, director of marketing for PackH2O, a nonprofit company recently spun
off from Greif.

Many, Smith said, end up carrying water in dirty containers.

“How would you feel if I changed the oil in my car, filled it (the oil container) up with water,
put it on the dinner table and said, ‘Drink up’?”

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ohio State University. After working for several
information- technology companies, he started his own — Sophisticated Systems — in 1990.

With the business doing well, Smith in 2000 started the Thanks Be to God Foundation, reflecting
his belief that, because he has been blessed in life, he should help others.

An avid consumer of news, the 56-year-old Springfield native said a newspaper article or TV news
report has occasionally prompted him to make a call and ask how he can help.

“That’s his whole personality — to do for others and try to change the world,” said his wife,
Renee. “He works hard and is successful, but he lives the saying ‘To whom much is given, much is
required.’ You’re not supposed to keep it; you’re supposed to give it back.”

After sending money to renovate the schoolhouse, Smith became involved with the e-reader project
last year. He learned that groups of students from Defiance College and Otterbein University were
heading to Africa, so he bought the e-readers and sent them with the students.

That effort led to the PackH2O project.

While talking to Defiance history professor Jeremy Taylor, Smith learned that Taylor’s students
plan to study clean-water issues during a return trip to Tanzania next month.

He bought 20 packs for the Defiance group to take.

“He amazes me,” Taylor said. “He genuinely wants to help. With many philanthropists, you wonder
about ulterior motives; maybe they are giving out of hubris. But I think he gives to try to make
the world a better place.”

In addition, Smith recently bought 250 of the packs for people living in the slums of Nairobi,
Kenya.

Smith, a fitness buff advised to give up running after undergoing neck surgery two years ago,
wore an empty water pack while walking half-marathons in February in Dublin and in March in Little
Rock, Ark.

“But he walks so fast, I have to jog to keep up,” said Shekhar Mahajan, his friend and training
partner, who will accompany Smith on Saturday in the Capital City Half Marathon.

PackH2O will have 250 packs on hand at the race, Langdale said. Participants will be encouraged
to take one (donations are welcome but not required) and wear it during the event to help raise
awareness.